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The Tribe
The Tribe is the epic tale of a family and its history and a family in history.
The Carraches are a powerful Sephardic dynasty in the cosmopolitan city of Salonica during the dying days of the Ottoman Empire. After the Greek annexation of the city, they settle in France until, in 1940, the Nazi Occupation sends some into hiding, some into flight and others into camps. In the early 1960s, the survivors and their children confront the family’s past, with long hidden secrets uncovered and deep-seated conflicts exposed, even as the Eichmann trial forces the world at large to confront the full enormity of the Holocaust.
The Tribe crosses cultures and continents in its exploration of family, race, nation and empire. As the central characters journey from adolescence through early adulthood to late middle age, they experience first loves, political and sexual awakenings, artistic triumphs, religious pressures, marital struggles, dynastic rivalries, brutal persecution, resilience and liberation, before, helped by their children, they finally achieve a degree of reconciliation both with one another and the city of their birth.
The Carraches are a powerful Sephardic dynasty in the cosmopolitan city of Salonica during the dying days of the Ottoman Empire. After the Greek annexation of the city, they settle in France until, in 1940, the Nazi Occupation sends some into hiding, some into flight and others into camps. In the early 1960s, the survivors and their children confront the family’s past, with long hidden secrets uncovered and deep-seated conflicts exposed, even as the Eichmann trial forces the world at large to confront the full enormity of the Holocaust.
The Tribe crosses cultures and continents in its exploration of family, race, nation and empire. As the central characters journey from adolescence through early adulthood to late middle age, they experience first loves, political and sexual awakenings, artistic triumphs, religious pressures, marital struggles, dynastic rivalries, brutal persecution, resilience and liberation, before, helped by their children, they finally achieve a degree of reconciliation both with one another and the city of their birth.
- GenresHistorical Fiction
578 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 11, 2026
About the author
Michael Arditti
18 books22 followersMichael Arditti FRSL is an English writer. He has written twelve novels, including Easter, The Enemy of the Good, Jubilate and The Breath of Night, and also a collection of short stories, Good Clean Fun. His most recent novel, The Anointed, was published in April 2020. He is a prolific literary critic and an occasional broadcaster for the BBC. Much of his work explores issues of spirituality and sexuality. He has been described by Philip Pullman as "our best chronicler of the rewards and pitfalls of present-day faith".
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 4, 2026
Heartbreaking story I cannot say more. History has a repeat that really does not need to be repeated. However it was a little difficult to know who was who sometimes because the family grew and then for obvious reasons became smaller but it was a book worth reading
August 29, 2026
A beautifully written historical epic that spans most of the 20th century. It tells the story of the Carrache family, Sephardic Jews living first in Salonica (modern day Thessaloniki) who become dispersed across Europe and then the world as they fall victim to increasingly vicious waves of anti Semitism culminating in the horrors of the holocaust. Structurally it reminded me a lot of two other novels, in particular The Eighth Life by Nino Haratischwili and One Hundred Years of Solitude (especially the family tree with multiple male members of the same name).
Each chapter focuses on a different family member at a different point in time yet continues the overarching narrative of “the tribe”. Whilst this “matryoshka” writing technique is cleverly and stylishly accomplished as a reader it was sometimes devastating to read of the fates of key characters as a brief aside within the chapter of a cousin or other relative.
This meant that each chapter also left me wanting more details from that character before it moved on and so somehow a novel that is over 500 pages actually felt very fast paced. I could easily have enjoyed 1000 pages plus aligning it with my final comparison, Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy” in the seismic historical events told through the story of a single family genre.
Each chapter focuses on a different family member at a different point in time yet continues the overarching narrative of “the tribe”. Whilst this “matryoshka” writing technique is cleverly and stylishly accomplished as a reader it was sometimes devastating to read of the fates of key characters as a brief aside within the chapter of a cousin or other relative.
This meant that each chapter also left me wanting more details from that character before it moved on and so somehow a novel that is over 500 pages actually felt very fast paced. I could easily have enjoyed 1000 pages plus aligning it with my final comparison, Vikram Seth’s “A Suitable Boy” in the seismic historical events told through the story of a single family genre.
October 15, 2026
An epic story of a Jewish family set in Salonica beginning at the end of the Ottoman Empire spanning several generations through to the 1960s.
War, family conflicts, traditions, class and religion determine the paths of each of the family members love and war causing some to flee as far as Argentina or to be part of the resistance in France. Beautifully told, a real page turner.
War, family conflicts, traditions, class and religion determine the paths of each of the family members love and war causing some to flee as far as Argentina or to be part of the resistance in France. Beautifully told, a real page turner.
May 30, 2026
Overall, a good book. I love an epic spanning multiple people, generations, places but there was something here that was lacking. I wanted more from certain characters and events. The final part felt rushed, a last minute post edit addition particularly compared to the intense detail of the first part.
July 30, 2026
A Jewish family epic which delivers a tour de force of historical drama and character development.
August 20, 2026
Great story - couldn’t put it down.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews